Subaru BRZ v Toyota 86

The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ may be two of the most desirable cars on the market, but some owners claim to be experiencing engine issues with the sporty Japanese twin coupes.

A report from Automotive News states the Toyota and Subaru two-doors – which were co-developed and are powered by the same 2.0-litre ‘boxer’ engine – are experiencing rough engine idle symptoms and occasional stalling.

According to the article, Subaru and Toyota representatives have stated the issue is related to a software problem. It states the car’s ECU (engine control unit) is an adaptive computer that picks up on how the owner drives the car in the first 100 miles (161 kilometres), and sets the engine to perform accordingly. The ECU may then pick up if the car is being driven outside of these tolerances, and send an error code, causing the engine to idle roughly or stall.

Toyota says the problem is not mechanical, and that the ECU’s software will need to be re-mapped (or “re-flashed” in car jargon) if it has less than 100 miles on the clock. It says that if the odometer reading is higher, the ECU should be replaced.

“This is not a mileage-dependent condition,” Subaru spokesman Dominick Infante is quoted as saying. “No replacement of the ECU is needed at any mileage to rectify the issue. The ECU re-flash is the fix. There is not a defect concerning the ECU.”

Drive is still awaiting a response from Toyota Australia and Subaru Australia.

International enthusiast sites such as FT86club.com are openly discussing the problem, with more than 100 registered complaints about rough idle issues including one forum member who says their car has been “in the shop” for three weeks with parts including the engine’s oil control valve and variable valve timing cam gear requiring replacement. In a number of cases, those who have complained and had their ECU re-flashed have stated the rough-idle problem is still occurring.

Australian owners have also taken to the internet to discuss the engine problem. The gt86.com.au forum has a thread dedicated to the problem, with several users explaining how their cars have been affected.

“Well in my case if the car sits idle for 1-2 minutes it is likely to conk out and you can feel the car shaking,” writes user tisb0b. “This can usually be negated to an extent by having my foot on the accelerator and brake at the same time keeping it around 1.5k rpms [sic].”

“For me it happens intermittently, mostly shortly after the car is in neutral, idling,” writes forum user keen as. “It is very rough idling, revs varying 100-400, coughing (mis-firing [sic]), car shaking (embarassing [sic] at the lights), stalled once. The engine smooths with light throttle pressure to keep around 1.5k rpms [sic]. If I didn't do this to smooth the engine, I guess the CEL [Check Engine Light] will come back on again.”

Another, apparently unrelated issue raised by some BRZ and 86 owners is that of a “chirping” sound from the car’s fuel pump. Described as similar to the sound of a cricket, the sound is reported to start occurring once the car reaches 300 miles (482km), and while it is not considered problematic, several users on the subarubrzforum.com site have indicated they are opting for a fix at their dealership.

102 comments so far

Oops. Over use of computers ruining the day again. Just because we can does not mean we should IMO.Pete

Commenter

PSk

Location

Sydney

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 11:30AM

Sounds like a real pain. The car tells you how to drive it. Wonder whether the owner bears the cost?

Commenter

PeeRod

Location

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 11:50AM

No, it could never happen to an imported car! They are marvelous, never have an issue and run forever without a service even, unlike these crappy Australian made cars…

Commenter

Realist

Location

AU

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 11:55AM

Overuse of computers? Hardly, but I can see how it may seem that way to someone who was raised on carburettors.

It seems to be a reletivly simple fix (you just plug it into the tech computer and bob's you're uncle), but time will tell of course. This seems like a fairly minor issue in the scheme of things, and teething problems are to be expected with all brand new ground up designs.

Commenter

Marc

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 12:14PM

Yeah, PSk! All these new fangled computers & ECUs that they've been using the past 30 years are too much.Nothing ever went wrong with carbs, screwdrivers and guesswork./sarcasm

Commenter

BruceC

Location

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 2:12PM

I think the owners experiencing the problem may have forgotten to put the choke back in.

Commenter

Datoman

Location

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 2:32PM

Bruce,I'm confused. This issue is a computer problem is it not and it reads like Toyota/Subaru were trying to be too clever and alter valve timing depending on how the owner drives the car. Is that really required. What benefit are we talking about here for the owner? Fuel savings, tiny bit more torque?Electronic ignition and fuel injection (mainly getting rid of chokes) have definitely improved car reliability but this sounds like a unnecessary nerdy bit of programming that really is not required.The owner already has the accelerator pedal to use, they should try controlling that themselves if they want fuel economy or whatever.Oh and carbs never really give any trouble, unless dirty or somebody fiddles with them ... but they do need a choke and this is where the trouble starts, ie. driver now has control.Pete

Commenter

PSk

Location

Sydney

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 2:49PM

Talk about overuse of computers! Isn't this the over-hyped Subaru that suckers bought online without ever having driven or even touched one?

And then they whine about problems with the vehicle. A lemon with a goose at the wheel.

Just plain dopey...

Commenter

doh

Location

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 4:08PM

One ECU and you complain about overuse of computers.... I'd bet my bottom dollar the car you drive has an ECU too and probably has for the last two decades *facepalm

Commenter

lolwat

Location

Date and time

October 10, 2012, 4:21PM

lolwat,This is not a problem with the concept of an ECU, it is what they have used it for, ie. they have added too many programs to it. Yes my car does have an ECU, works perfectly (as did my previous car a Toyota) but if you actually read the article you will see they is a programming bug related to the ECU trying to model itself based on the way the owner drives ... that is unnecessary IMO. Maybe I should have said: Too many programs ruining the day in my first post.Good engineering is about keeping things simple. Toyota have over complicated their ECU for very minimal gains. Again just because we can does not mean we should.Pete